22
Jul
West country affordability concerns highlighted
Young people based in the south-west have stated that they cannot
afford to get on the property ladder and as a result they remain at
home with their parents.
Volunteers who attended last month's Glastonbury festival in
Somerset were polled by Mendip Housing, the Aster Group and the
Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), with 25 per cent having said
that homes are not available.
In the coming five years, 54.8 per cent of those questioned
remarked they want to own their own property, yet 23.3 per cent
added that they want to rent.
"The south-west is now recognised as having the worst affordable
housing crisis in the UK outside London. The region has for some
time had the biggest affordability gap, between average earnings
and average house prices," commented CIH south-west region official
Wendy Murphy.
It is more difficult for people to get on the housing ladder in
cities with strong economies such as Bristol, Centre for Cities has
noted.